ROMERO CANYON, CASTAIC CALIFORNIAhttp://romerocanyon.com
LIVING A COUNTRY WAY OF LIFETue, 22 May 2018 23:43:09 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.6UPDATED: Residents say school site could cause flood damagehttp://romerocanyon.com/updated-residents-say-school-site-could-cause-flood-damage/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 16:58:11 +0000http://romerocanyon.com/?p=1369

Seventeen Castaic residents sent a letter of notice to the William S. Hart Union High School District and the developers of the Castaic High School site, claiming runoff water from the school puts homes in Romero Canyon at “imminent risk of harm.”

Attorney Gregory Goodheart wrote a 20-page letter to 11 groups including C.A. Rasmussen, Spirit Holdings, the school district and three county agencies that said flood damage would occur if the developers did not take precautions.

“The homeowners wish to alert all named entities above of the real and imminent danger of damage to property and life as a result of flood waters caused as a result of the building of the Castaic High School,” Goodheart wrote.

In a statement released to The Signal Friday, the William S. Hart Unified School District said grading for the school is complete, the overall construction of the site is about 40 percent complete and it had received approvals for construction from eight different agencies including the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, the California Geologic Survey and Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

“These approvals took many years to obtain and involved a multitude of consultants of various disciplines related to this type of development. Environmental Impact Studies, environmental impact reports, jurisdictional wetlands delineations, topography surveys, geologic investigations, and hydrology studies were all prepared, reviewed and approved. Third-party monitors of various disciplines have ensured the strict adherence to the permits and approvals issued to the district for this project,” the statement said.

Randy Wrage, the manager of the construction project, said some residents have been against the building of the high school for years.

“They just don’t want a high school there,” he said Thursday. “It’s a neighbor dispute.”

A Los Angeles County Department of Public Works spokesman said the agency was aware of the letter.

Goodheart said last year’s rainy season instigated the residents’ concerns.

“These homeowners became aware of the flood water problem with last winter’s moderate rains, which produced run-off in excess of what any of the residents had witnessed in 20 years,” he wrote. “There had been periods of much harder and more prolonged rains in the past which did not produce anything remotely near the run-off which occurred last winter with the grading and construction of the school site.”

Goodheart said the school site, which spans about 198 acres, cleared land that was undeveloped and changed the makeup of the soil.

“In order to construct the school site, literally millions of yards of alluvial soil was removed and/or compacted significantly, greatly reducing the natural soil absorption and percolation of rainwater into the earth,” he wrote. “In turn, this change drastically increased the amount of runoff from the site into the Romero Canyon community below.”

The school district’s statement said the drainage system was approved with conditions in Romero Canyon before and after the school is fully built in mind.

“The approved drainage system was designed in consideration of both the pre-existing conditions within Romero Canyon and the fully improved high school site, yet to be completed. Romero Canyon is a County of Los Angeles adopted floodway. Per the floodway map, during a ‘Capital Storm’ (50-year event) the storm flow is approximately 1,700 to 2,000 cubic feet per second. The consultant for the school district was required to perform extensive hydrologic and hydraulic analysis under multiple storm event scenarios to show that there was no change in storm flow characteristics leaving the school site based on pre- and post-development conditions,” the statement said.

The statement added: “In summary, the development of the district property is designed to not have an impact on the current conditions within the canyon. There will still be significant flows of water and/or debris in low-lying areas during major storm events as a result of natural drainage tendencies, the lack of an improved downstream drainage system, and the reality that Romero Canyon has a stream running through it.”

Goodheart said homeowners are concerned runoff from the school would overflow concrete V-ditches at the edge of the school property and adjacent reservoirs.

“Once again, during last winter’s moderate rains, evidence of the inadequate nature of the reservoirs/dams became apparent,” he wrote. “The dams quickly filled to capacity, with moderate rainfall, and expelled great amounts of water into the spillway which dumped into a streambed which could not begin to hold the water forced into it.”

Goodheart’s letter showed photos of damage in Romero Canyon last year that included a partially submerged vehicle, muddy roads and eroded drainage. Romero Canyon Road is a private road and is primarily a dirt road, though there is a portion that is paved.

“Of great concern to the residents of Romero Canyon is that during a heavy rain the water going into the reservoir will be more than the spillway can expel. At that point the excess water will overtake the earth dam and cut through and within minutes the entire dam will fail,” he wrote. “If such a breach does occur there is no doubt that there is a significant and real and present danger to property and life below the dam.”

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The town of Castaic at the northwestern edge of the Santa Clarita Valley derives its name from the Tataviam Indian word “kashtuk.” In the mid- to late-1800s, Castaic consisted of a number of large ranches, as did neighboring regions throughout the greater Saugus area. Castaic’s first white settlers were probably the Cordova family, who arrived in 1835, followed in 1853 by a ’49er named George Washington Lechler, who homesteaded in nearby Hasley Canyon and became one of the area’s most prominent citizens.

Speakers at a Wednesday groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited Castaic High School talked at length about the barriers and obstacles that had been overcome over the past few decades to get to the point where construction could begin on the project.

But to get to the ceremony, about 100 attendees had to go through several more obstacles, in the form of temporary barriers set up by Castaic residents angered by the fact the district was using the private Romero Canyon Road to get to the groundbreaking site.

Many of the residents who turned out to demonstrate said they have no problem with the high school itself, but questioned its location and the type of impact it would have on their community.

“We’re not opposed to the high school,” said Castaic resident Marvin Metcalf, who brought his tractor out to help block the road. “But we want to do it safely and we don’t want our property rights violated.”

A group of residents used trashcans, vehicles and Metcalf’s tractor to block Romero Canyon Road, temporarily halting access to the ceremony.

The residents also contracted a security company, Copper Eagle Patrol and Security, to tell those traveling on the road that they were trespassing.

But traffic along the road was allowed, said Gail Pinsker, a spokeswoman for the William S. Hart Union High School District, and the district has an easement that gives them legal access to the thoroughfare.

“We can use it just how we used it today,” Pinsker said Wednesday.

But residents were insistent the district has no such right.

Castaic resident Glen Ennis said those who live on Romero Canyon Road had been in contact with the district about the issue, but were unable to come to a satisfactory resolution.

“It’s been a fight and we really feel that we’ve been screwed,” Ennis said.

Pinsker said about 100 people turned out for the groundbreaking event Wednesday, but that a few people who wanted to attend turned back when they saw the residents’ blockade.

“It’s disappointing that a couple of people we wanted to share this moment with were unable to get through due to some residents blockading the road that we have access to,” Pinsker said.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Hart district Superintendent Rob Challinor said he wanted all the residents to know that Romero Canyon Road will not be used for construction traffic or for student traffic once the school is open in 2016.

“This is America,” Challinor said. “People have the right to express their opinions. But we also have the right to build a high school to serve the citizens of Castaic.”

The idea of a high school in Castaic has been proposed in one form or another for more than 20 years, according to Hart district board member Gloria Mercado-Fortine.

Mercado-Fortine, who is a long-time resident of the Castaic area, said the groundbreaking represents a “dream come true.”

“It is said that good things come to those who wait and, my gosh, have we waited,” Mercado-Fortine said.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich also spoke on the background of the project and the years-long search for an appropriate site for the school.

]]>Homeowners Protest at Groundbreaking of New Castaic High Schoolhttp://romerocanyon.com/homeowners-protest-at-groundbreaking-of-new-castaic-high-school/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss
http://romerocanyon.com/homeowners-protest-at-groundbreaking-of-new-castaic-high-school/#commentsWed, 08 May 2013 23:25:10 +0000http://romerocanyon.com/?p=752

CASTAIC, Calif. (KTLA) — City officials in Castaic broke ground Wednesday on a new public high school, but some area residents who showed up to protest have questioned its location.

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]]>Hart district names new preferred site for Castaic high schoolhttp://romerocanyon.com/hart-district-names-new-preferred-site-for-castaic-high-school/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss
http://romerocanyon.com/hart-district-names-new-preferred-site-for-castaic-high-school/#commentsThu, 08 Mar 2012 00:08:45 +0000http://romerocanyon.com/?p=709Following months of studies and reports, Hart district board members decided Wednesday night to replace Romero Canyon with a new preferred site for Castaic high school
William S. Hart Union High School District leaders and environmental consultants touted the Castaic property, known as the hybrid site, Wednesday, saying that it will provide more space for Castaic high school, reduce grading and eliminate any landslide concerns. If the board ultimately goes with the hybrid site, the 60-acre school would be made up entirely of one-story buildings and would have space for additional parking lots and fields. The district hopes to open the school in fall 2015 to freshman only. When it’s fully built out, the school would serve 2,600 high school students.

In July 2010, the board decided to make Romero Canyon its preferred site for the school. The property, owned by local developer Larry Rasmussen, is located in an undeveloped area of Castaic.

In October 2011, the district decided to begin studying a new hybrid site that combined Romero Canyon with a neighboring piece of property, which was once owned by Eugene Lombardi. Given the benefits it sees to the hybrid site, the board unanimously voted Wednesday to make it the preferred site for Castaic high school. Romero Canyon is now an alternate site should any problems come up with the hybrid site.

The district did not receive any written comments nor did anyone speak during the public hearing.
The 23,000-student school district has spent more than a decade trying to find the right spot in the Castaic area to build a high school. Without the school, high school aged kids living in the Castaic area must commute along Interstate 5 to West Ranch and Valencia high schools, which have been overcrowded.

With the notice of preparation for the Castaic high school project completed, the district is now working on an environmental impact review, a hefty document that details ways the Castaic high school project may affect the community and environment. The document is expected to be released to the public by early summer, Cole said. District officials hope to sign off on the environmental impact review by the end of summer, which could allow the district to prepare for construction on the school.

County supervisors Tuesday approved plans to build 70 homes on some 50 acres of land in Castaic.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a recommendation to authorize a residential development of 70 single-family residential lots, three commercial lots, four open-space lots, one private park and one public utility on 47.25 acres in the Castaic Canyon Zoned District.

In April, the board certified reports done by the developer — Bahram Safavi and Can Shelter Inc. — regarding the project’s impact on the environment.

The 70 homes are intended to be built in an area southwest of The Old Road and Interstate 5, south of Parker Road and north of Villa Canyon Road.

In a companion recommendation put before the board Tuesday regarding the same proposed development, supervisors approved a conditional-use permit on the “clustered hillside” housing development’s anticipated impact on oak trees.

By approving the developer’s oak tree permit, supervisors allowed the removal of 13 oak trees and approved the encroachment on 20 protected oak trees and two old “heritage” oak trees.

Heritage oaks — such as the Valley oak, California live oak, Black oak and Blue oak — have a trunk of at least 36 inches in circumference.
Heritage oaks are deemed as such because of their age, size, location, visibility, historic nature or other unique attributes, accordingly. These are trees that deserve special consideration for preservation and protection, according to county officials.

]]>http://romerocanyon.com/county-approves-castaic-housing/feed/7Castaic high school opening pushed back another yearhttp://romerocanyon.com/castaic-high-school-opening-pushed-back-another-year/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss
http://romerocanyon.com/castaic-high-school-opening-pushed-back-another-year/#commentsTue, 24 Jan 2012 20:43:23 +0000http://romerocanyon.com/?p=714Officials say larger campus requires more studies but will be worth it

The Hart district has pushed back the opening of Castaic high school to fall 2015, saying the addition of more property to the high school site requires more studies, officials said Monday.

Officials with the William S. Hart Union High School District previously wanted to open the high school to students in fall 2014. That was the goal when the Hart district board named Romero Canyon as the preferred site for Castaic high school, a project that’s taken the 23,000-student school district more than a decade to complete.

Romero Canyon is a 114-acre plot of undeveloped Castaic land owned by developer Larry Rasmussen.

In recent months, Romero Canyon neighbor Eugene Lombardi lost his property in a public auction, which gave the Hart district an opportunity to acquire 84 more acres.

With more space, the Hart district says, it can cut down on construction costs and give students more room.

That also means pushing the opening date back by a year to allow for state-required studies on the revised site.

“I think we have an opportunity to make Castaic high school a much better school,” Hart district board president Gloria Mercado-Fortine said Monday. “I think our end product will be much, much better and the community will be much, much happier. I think that outweighs the time element.”

Under the new time line, Castaic high school would open to ninth-graders only in fall 2015 with grades added until it becomes a comprehensive high school.

“The school will open with all academic, extracurricular and athletic programs that are available to our ninth-graders at our comprehensive high schools,” Hart district spokeswoman Gail Pinsker said.

The Castaic community has long awaited a high school of its own. Without it, high school students living in Castaic and Val Verde commute to West Ranch and Valencia high schools, which have experienced overcrowding.

Castaic high school is being paid for by local voters who, in 2008, supported Measure SA, a $300 million construction bond, so the school and a number of improvements at other campuses could be completed.

Castaic Area Town Council member Flo Lawrence said the new property would better accommodate athletic fields and open space for students.

“I believe that waiting an additional year to have a dream site is worth it,” he said. “I think it’s worth doing it right.”

This week, the Hart district will release a revised notice of preparation, which is a planning document that outlines the high school project.

By early summer, the district anticipates releasing the environmental impact review, a hefty document that details the potential effect the high school may have on traffic, the environment and air quality.

Whether it’s the likelihood of flooding or a need for bigger roads, about 20 local residents Tuesday night laid out their concerns and hopes for the Hart district’s plan to build Castaic high school at a rural and undeveloped part of Castaic.

This week’s scoping meeting is just the latest step the William S. Hart Union High School District has taken as the 23,000-student district moves forward to build a 55-acre school on the Romero Canyon property owned by local developer Larry Rasmussen. The district hopes to open the campus to incoming ninth-graders only by fall 2014, putting an end to the 10-year battle to build the school.

Tuesday’s meeting was a way for the Hart district to gather public input about the environmental impact review, a lengthy analysis that the district is putting together about Romero Canyon.

Among the concerns brought up during the meeting were the future of the unpaved roads surrounding Romero Canyon and whether two- or four-lane roads would be enough to serve the school and the growing Castaic community. At build out, Castaic high school is expected to have a capacity of 2,600 students.

“I am of personal belief that we should build a four-lane road to begin with,” Castaic Area Town Council member Flo Lawrence said. “I don’t see how we won’t need a four-lane road.”

The meeting also brought out members of Citizens for Castaic, a coalition of Castaic residents who have criticized the Romero Canyon property as a school site.

Group leaders are concerned that the school will cost far more than the Hart district thinks because of the complexity of the Romero Canyon property, and its deep slopes and canyons. Another issue brought up at Tuesday’s scoping meeting was whether the Hart district will be able to secure easements from surrounding homeowners for roads to Castaic high school.

Officials said the first copy of the environmental impact review for Castaic high school is expected to be ready for the public by early June, and will cover a spread of topics, including traffic, air quality and noise.